Writing your own blogs?

Are you asking someone on your team to write blogs for your website?  Are you planning to write some blog posts yourself?

This isn’t a bad idea.  Not all businesses have to go outside the company to create content.  If you have employees who are passionate about topics you want to share with customers, then let them give it a try.  You might want to get someone to help you with editing but getting started using your own words could be just the challenge an underutilized employee needs..  I worked with a client who wrote his thoughts down in a word document and sent them to us to clean up and edit.  It was a great process for getting his expertise directly into a well written piece for his website.

I’d encourage you to do this in context of a larger content strategy so that you’re dedicating resources to priority topics and pieces of content.

Here are a few tips for writing the blog content:

• In general, business blogs should not be promotional.  Your goal is usually to share something you know that others might not. Tips, tricks, best practices etc.  Your blog should not read like an advertisement for products or services.
• A good starting point is to talk about a common problem your customers have. Help them understand the magnitude of the problem and how they can solve it.  You can talk about your own products or services in this context but again, not like an advertisement.  Instead, use examples or explain how you would approach the solution.  For example, “At XYZCo we encourage companies to…” instead of “XYZCo can solve that problem by…”
• Another good starting point for a blog is to ask a question and then help the reader answer it for themselves. Give them what they need to evaluate options and come to a conclusion.
• It is ok to include a more explicit mention of your products and services in the blog – most commonly at the end as part of a call to action.
• Finish the blog with a call to action. Tell the reader what you’d like them to do next.  Depending on the goal of the content, that might be to read something else, or it might be to connect with you.
• Don’t use buzzwords or words that aren’t clear.  A term like “digital transformation” is an example of a phrase I wouldn’t use often.  What does that mean really?  It’s very different for different businesses.  Be specific and use examples instead.
• Also don’t use technical words that are unfamiliar to the target reader. If you’re an engineer but you’re writing a blog meant to appeal to a decision-maker in finance, you might want to go light on the “engineering-speak”.  I worked with a client who came to me for help to “un-nerdify” their content.  It was too technical and not resonating with their audience.  Speak to them in language they use, not language you use.
• Use language that reflects your culture and your brand. If you’re brand is young and progressive, don’t use language that is stuffy and old-fashioned.
• If you aren’t researching the topic you’re writing about you’re not doing enough.  Unless you’re the world expert at something (and even then) – you need to research what you’re writing about.  Find other opinions, data to support your arguments, different ways to look at things, and support for your statements etc.
• Never publish anything before it’s reviewed by someone else. This doesn’t have to be a professional editor (although you can find many freelancers to help at reasonable prices). Anyone who can test whether your message is coming across correctly is just what you need.
• Add in different perspectives from others in your company. If you want to share your insights on supply chain shortages, talk to your procurement expert or production lead to round out the information.
• Don’t be afraid to inject some personality including jargon from your region or industry, personal insights observations or stories, etc.
• Just start! Many people become paralyzed before they even begin. Maybe you can’t type, don’t use good grammar, don’t have time to sit and write like Winston Churchill. Start with a voice recording then transcribe it, scribble some notes and ask someone to make sense of them, comment on an industry trend or forecast – just start.

We use templates for developing the Bench Strength Marketing blog content and to help our clients with theirs.  It helps us keep track of all the extra stuff like keywords, calls-to-action etc.  One of our templates is a creative brief for writers but you could use it for yourself or your staff.  We’re happy to share both.  Reach out and let us know what you need.